**Course Title:** Mastering Development Environments **Section Title:** Version Control Systems **Topic:** Create a Git repository, make changes, and manage branches.(Lab topic) **Objective:** By the end of this lab, you will be able to create a new Git repository, make changes to the repository, and manage branches. **Prerequisites:** You have completed the following topics: - Setting up Git: Installation, configuration, and basic commands. - Working with Git repositories: cloning, committing, branching, and merging. ### Step 1: Create a New Git Repository To create a new Git repository, follow these steps: 1. Open your terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory where you want to create your new repository. 2. Use the `git init` command to initialize a new Git repository. ```bash git init my-repo ``` 3. Change into the newly created repository directory. ```bash cd my-repo ``` 4. Verify that the repository was initialized correctly by using the `git status` command. ```bash git status ``` ### Step 2: Make Changes to the Repository Now that we have created a new repository, let's make some changes to it: 1. Create a new file called `readme.txt` with the following content: ```markdown # This is my first repository ``` 2. Use the `git add` command to stage the new file. ```bash git add readme.txt ``` 3. Use the `git commit` command to commit the changes with a meaningful commit message. ```bash git commit -m "Initial commit" ``` ### Step 3: Create a New Branch Now that we have made changes to the repository, let's create a new branch to isolate our changes: 1. Use the `git branch` command to create a new branch called `feature/new-feature`. ```bash git branch feature/new-feature ``` 2. Use the `git checkout` command to switch to the new branch. ```bash git checkout feature/new-feature ``` 3. Verify that you are now on the new branch by using the `git branch` command with the `-v` option. ```bash git branch -v ``` ### Step 4: Make Changes to the New Branch Now that we are on the new branch, let's make some changes: 1. Edit the `readme.txt` file to include the following content: ```markdown # This is my first repository This is a new feature ``` 2. Use the `git add` command to stage the changes. ```bash git add readme.txt ``` 3. Use the `git commit` command to commit the changes with a meaningful commit message. ```bash git commit -m "Added new feature" ``` ### Step 5: Merge the New Branch into the Master Branch Now that we have made changes to the new branch, let's merge it into the master branch: 1. Use the `git checkout` command to switch back to the master branch. ```bash git checkout master ``` 2. Use the `git merge` command to merge the new branch into the master branch. ```bash git merge feature/new-feature ``` **Conclusion:** In this lab, we created a new Git repository, made changes to the repository, and managed branches. We learned how to use the `git init`, `git add`, `git commit`, `git branch`, `git checkout`, and `git merge` commands to manage our repository. **Additional Resources:** - For a comprehensive Git documentation, visit [https://git-scm.com/docs](https://git-scm.com/docs) - For a beginner-friendly Git tutorial, visit [https://guides.github.com/activities/hello-world/](https://guides.github.com/activities/hello-world/) **What Next:** - In the next topic, we will cover 'Understanding containerization and its benefits.' From: Containerization with Docker. Please note that this lab assumes you have completed the previous topics in the course. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please comment below.

2. Use the `git add` command to stage the changes.
```bash
git add readme.txt